No One Could Believe The Reason This German Socialite Only Ever Paid Using Cash

Anna Delvey is a socialite from New York City… or is she? This woman made a name for herself with her high balling lifestyle and odd habit of paying exclusively in cash using a specific bill. The young woman appeared to have everything anyone could possibly want. Until her whole life started to crash around her, that is. Her life was changed forever by a single revelation, and it was never the same again…

The Mystery Woman

Anyone who knows the ins and outs of the socialite scene in the city that never sleeps likely knows of Anna Delvey. Even though people know her face and her name, no one could agree on where exactly she came from. With that said, she might as well have simply materialized in Soho out of nowhere!

Don’t Be Fooled

A single glance will be enough to tell you that she comes from money, one way or another. The way she acted is yet another telling factor of her background. She behaved like she owned the world, that she could do anything she wanted, whenever she wanted. This played a big part in how she deceived a lot of people for a long time.

The Right Conditions

Anna Delvey had no permanent address. She simply lived in one hotel and then moved on to the next one, though she occasionally took trips out of the country to renew her visa. She actually earned a reputation of sorts when she settled into a new boutique hotel at 11 Howard Street.

She Played The Part

She definitely knew the people to know. This is yet another reason the hotel did not feel the need to see her credit card the moment she arrived. They were kind enough to give her this incredible courtesy, but they would prove to be the end of her lavish lifestyle as well.

The Sweet Life

If you want to hear the short story, she was living a life most people would only ever dream about. She was the type of person who wore high-end clothes and handed hundred-dollar tips out on the regular. She made quick friends with the concierge at the hotel. Neffatari Davis, called Neff by her friends, was fascinated with Anna Delvey as soon as she came through the doors of 11 Howard.

A Celebrity

Anna told her that she was planning to be there for a whole month. It was a noticeably long stay, but this was nothing unusual from celebrities, socialites, and the like. Whenever she dropped by the concierge station, she always handed Neff a $100 bill.

Another Soho Socialite

There were zero reasons for Neff to wonder if Anna Delvey was a different person than who she said she was. She hoped to befriend this guest if possible. Back then, she was a promising cinematographer and knew the socialite could be useful in the future. She had no idea what was about to happen…

She Knew It All

Anna typically dropped by her station to ask about destination and restaurant recommendations. However, Neff was quick to catch on to the fact that her guest already knew the best spots. Not only that, but she even knew the owners, waiters, and bartenders already! What was she up to?

Looking For A Friend

Neff realized right away that the guest was not actually in need of a recommendation. It was something Anna was doing to get close to her. She must have been trying to make a friend at the hotel, and they got to know each other better over time. “You just sit there and listen, because that’s your concierge life,” Neff said.

After Hours

Neff did not think anything strange of their interactions even though this was the first time she kept in touch with a guest after she clocked out. It did not take long before the two hit restaurants and clubs.

Exclusively In Cash

It was not long before this guest earned a reputation among the hotel staff for her $100 tips. “People would fight to take her packages upstairs,” explained Neff, “Fight, because you knew you were getting $100.” In all honesty, we do not blame them one bit. Anna Delvey must have been aware that money could often speak louder than words. Luckily, she never failed to have a handy stack of $100 bills on her person. Come to think of it, she only ever paid in cash – specifically with $100 bills! No one knew where she got her money, but it did not matter to them.

A Vacationing Royal

“She gave to everyone. Uber drivers, $100 cash. Meals — listen. You know how you reach for your credit card? She wouldn’t let me,” Neff said. Anna Delvey also had her own personal trainer-cum-life coach. It set her back by $4,500! It might sound like way too much to most of us, but Anna did not appear to mind. With the way she threw her money around, it was clear to everyone that she had money.

European Heiress

Her exotic accent led a lot of people to assume that she hailed from a very rich European family that had millions to their name. Everyone thought she was a princess who wanted some time away from home.

Star-Studded Dinner Parties

Aside from working on her friendship with Neff Davis, Anna Delvey also went the extra mile to host big dinner parties at an expensive French place named Le Coucou. These extravagant events never failed to be star-studded affairs. The guest list was always full of celebrities like athletes, artists, and CEOs.

An Extraverted Person

Anna Delvey boasted of great persuasion skills, which is not something we can all claim to possess. She did not only know people, but she knew how to get in good with them too. From the outside, she might not look like anything particularly special. It was the way she interacted with people that set her apart.

A Way With People

According to some man she met during the Paris Fashion Week, Anna Delvey was a sweet and polite girl who introduced herself to him. After this, she started to hang out and make conversation with friends of his. Anna was, without a doubt, an extrovert.

Right Clothes, Right Time

Here was how another person else described her: “She managed to be in all the sort of right places.” Once, she even dropped by a Berlin party on a private jet all dressed up in expensive and fancy clothes. Despite everything she did, people still had no idea where she was getting her money from.

Something Unusual

“There are so many trust-fund kids running around,” explained a marketing director called Saleh. “Everyone is your best friend, and you don’t know a thing about anyone.” However, there seemed to be something especially unusual about Anna Delvey’s case. What could it be?

Footing The Bill

Anna first encountered Michael Xufu Huang during an art show. She became fast friends with the art collector and museum founder. As a matter of fact, the pair even went to Italy together to go to the Venice Biennale. However, Anna raised a red flag when she told him to pay for the flight and hotel with his card…

A Little Weird

Although Michael did admit that he thought it was “a little weird”, he decided to simply let it go since she promised to pay him back for it. Besides, it was not a big deal because it was not a lot of money to him. Remember, we’re talking about kids with millions.

Bye Venice

When they were in Italy, he thought the way she paid only in cash was rather odd. Although it was strange, it was not a big enough deal for him to suspect something was amiss. The trip eventually ended, and they had to go home.

She Never Paid

Even though Ana made Michael a promise, she never spoke about paying him back. Even then, it was not an issue for Michael because he was aware of the tendency among the super-rich to forget these so-called minor details. As a matter of fact, he forgot about it as well.

Best Birthday Ever Until…

Anna decided to do something special for her birthday. She wanted to throw the best birthday party ever and hired a PR firm to organize it for her. She did not forget to invite plenty of celebrities and other successful people, of course. One was sent Michael’s way, of course. It was a highly successful party, and all of the guests had a great time. However, this was not meant to last.

What Was She Hiding?

A couple of days after her party, Michael got a message that inquired about the birthday girl’s contact information. They told him that “she didn’t pay her bill”. That was how Michael found out that his friend was not who he thought she was.

Different People, Different Stories

What exactly was happening? Who was this woman? Where did she get all her money from? People began to ask the questions they did not bother with in the beginning. Those who knew her gave different answers to these questions. How odd!

No One Could Agree

A friend of hers knew that her dad was a diplomat working in Russia because she once boasted off their “family money”. On the other hand, someone else believed her father was in the oil industry. None of the stories matched up. Who was Anna Delvey and what was her story?

More Theories

A friend said that Anna told her about their huge antiques business in Germany. Although she told these amazing backstories, everyone could tell that not one of these were true. To her credit, Anna Delvey shocked everyone when the cat got out of the bag. The speculations allegedly did not bother her at all. In fact, they did the exact opposite. The more people discussed her origins and identity, the higher her popularity became. Clearly, this woman was not going to let anything get in the way of her goal.

Her Future Goal

Her goal was to start an exclusive art club called The Anna Delvey Foundation, which would also be known as ADF. She took this endeavor extremely seriously and even got the help of Marc Kremers, a London-based creative director, to help out with branding for this business venture.

A Dream

Not only that, but she already took a look at different locations for this club. She finally found the perfect one. It was none other than the redevelopment at 281 Park Avenue South. However, she needed to take out loans in the millions to do this. With her connections, she found someone to do just that.

Promises She Could Not Keep

The person who did not mind lending her a hand wrote an email that talked about how important the loan was. The message said she needed it because “her personal assets, which are quite substantial, are located outside the US, some of them in a trust with UBS outside the US.” Anna Delvey made everyone believe she had the resources to repay everything. She also had the guts to promise that she was not going to embarrass the firm. Unfortunately, she could not hold on to all the promises she made.

A Little Help From Her Friends

As her financial status became more and more conspicuous, she made fundraising efforts and invited as many wealthy guests as she possibly could. One such guest was the “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli, who came into the spotlight when he increased the price of a certain medicine from a mere $13 to an eye-popping $750. He was eventually convicted on charges by the SCE and currently serves time in prison.

Computer Geek

When asked about the mysterious woman, Martin explained, “Anna did seem to be a popular ‘woman about town’ who knew everyone. Even though I was nationally known, I felt like a computer geek next to her.” It seems like Anna even picked up some of his tricks, which we’ll talk about later on.

The Beginning Of The End

Without a doubt, Anna was actually serious about launching her very own foundation. “She was always on the phone with lawyers,” Neff said in reference to the conversations she heard at the hotel. “They were always toning her down. Like, ‘Anna, you’re trying to make something that’s worth this much be worth that much, and that’s just not how it works.’”

It All Came Crashing Down

Once, Anna took her out to dinner. When the time came to pay for their meal, Anna appeared to be dealing with financial issues. She had 12 credit cards with her, and every single one of them got declined. This was the beginning of the end.

Time To Pay The Bill

Those willing to give her the benefit the doubt might think it was just cash flow problems. However, it was a little more sinister than that. Remember, she had yet to pay for her stay at 11 Howard. In fact, they had no credit card information for her in their records whatsoever…

An Important Guest

The hotel treated her like an important guest the whole time because she said she was a German heiress who was trying to buy the location that happened to be owned by the hotel owner. They did not mind waiting for a wire transfer, but it had been a month and a half and they had yet to receive anything.

Facing The Music

The hotel manager left Neff to deal with the rather delicate issue of her bill since they were close. Anna Delvey owed the hotel a staggering amount of $30,000. At the time, Neff was still under the impression that Anna was fine in the financial sense and talked to her about it. Neff couldn’t have been more wrong.

She Continued To Lie

Anna continued to tell her that they should receive a wire transfer sometime soon. She held onto her lies and refused to tell her friend how bad things actually were. Everything was about to unravel… but something unexpected happened first.

Enough With The Games

Can you believe that the hotel actually received a wire transfer for $30,000 to her name? Surprisingly, everything suddenly went back to normal for her. Well, maybe that was what she had in mind. The truth was that Anna Delvey was in for a very rude awakening.

Rude Awakening

Despite this, the hotel staff still did not have her valid credit card number. Of course, her bills continued to grow with each passing day. Time was up for Anna Delvey as the hotel decided not to take more risks. They gave her an ultimatum: either she gave them her credit card details or they would lock her out.

Failure To Do So

They actually did change the room code on her door when she failed to comply with their demands. She felt furious because they were treating her as if she were some commoner. That was the moment Anna Delvey decided to use what she learned from Martin Shkreli. What do you think he told her?

Threatened

She told the managers at the hotel that she would purchase web domains in their names, so they had no choice to buy them from her when it was time to use them. She decided to go to Morocco on vacation with her personal trainer and a videographer called Rachel Williams.

Troubles in Morocco

There were a lot of issues that went down during her Morocco trip. For one thing, her personal trainer got food poisoning and returned to the United States at an earlier date. Several days later, that person got a call from a hysterical Anna Delvey.

Police Involvement

According to Anna, her credit card would not work. Not only that, they were even threatening to get the help of law enforcement. She could be arrested if nothing worked, so she asked her personal trainer to lend a credit card and promised to pay it back. Despite this, that card and the next one did not go through either. The hotel then admitted that the problem might actually be with their system.

Kicked Out Again And Again

When Anna Delvey got back to the United States, she settled into a different hotel. The same problem ended up being her downfall, however. She was unable to give a valid credit card and pay her $11,518 bill. They did not only kick her out, but they also confiscated her things! She was more or less homeless.

Homeless

The self-proclaimed socialite had nowhere to live. She attempted to do her hotel scheme once more, but they kicked her out after a couple of days. Anna reached out to a friend who she begged to help her.

Threats

She contacted her personal trainer to ask for help. She wanted to stay with her overnight. While the trainer was not into the idea of taking her in, Anna made threats. She said she would commit suicide if she said no. This certainly worried the trainer.

Scamming A Friend

Before we go in any deeper, let us tackle how Anna Delvey got out of the Morocco hotel fiasco. It turns out that Rachel Williams had been the one to pay for the bill. When they were threatened with arrest, the videographer charged the $62,000 bill on her American Express card.

The Last Straw

Even though that was more than she earned in a whole year, she knew it was what needed to be done. But, upon hearing about this, the trainer got mad and said this was the last straw. It was then that they realized that they did not know anything about Anna. They were being conned.

Not Welcome Here

The trainer then told Anna Delvey to get out of there. However, the so-called heiress had one more trick up her sleeve. She “forgot” her laptop there, probably hoping she could stay some more when she came back to get it. This woman is so sneaky! Or so she thought…

Waited In The Lobby

However, her trainer saw right through her and was wise enough to leave the computer at the front desk instead. She did come back for it but was not allowed to come visit her trainer. Anna wanted to be heard and stayed at the lobby. She should have just gone away because this was when everything started to crumble under her feet.

An Intervention Of Sorts

Not long after that, no hotels were letting Anna Delvey stay without providing her credit card. Of course, this was only reasonable because she would not pay. She even begged her lawyer to let her stay with him. He refused her pleas because he did not want his wife to deal with his client. However, he got in touch with her personal trainer and asked if it was possible to have Anna stay. The request was denied but they did plan a surprise intervention for their common acquaintance. It was going to be attended by all the people Anna owed money to!

Payback Time

You can probably imagine just how harsh the group intervention was. After all, Anna Delvey basically swindled them significant amounts of money. She ended up crying at one point and claiming she would get the money to pay them all back after the lease was signed. Unfortunately, they had to break it to her that the supposed location for the Anna Delvey Foundation already went to someone else. She could not believe this piece of news and insisted it was nothing more than “fake news”. What happened now?

A Talented Con-Artist

At that point in time, there were already articles about her being a “wannabe socialite” circulating. Anna Delvey did not appreciate this and hated being called all these names, of course. Tearfully, she insisted that those were nothing more than lies. We all know that this was one headstrong young woman, so it should not be surprising to hear that she kept telling everyone she had money. According to her, she only made a couple of poor financial decisions.

Not Convinced

Rachel remained unconvinced by her situation, so she decided to take things into her own hands. She sent the New York District Attorney’s Office a message and an article about Anna Delvey. She told them, “I think this woman is a con-artist.” Not long after that, she got a call from them. They said, “we think you’re right.”

Different State, Same Girl

That incident happened shortly before Anna Delvey was arrested on account of her unpaid hotel bills. This was how a certain newspaper described the situation: “WANNABE SOCIALITE BUSTED FOR SKIPPING OUT ON PRICEY HOTEL BILLS.” She got a lawyer and then received bail. Was she in the clear?

Back To NY

It almost seemed like her life was back to normal. Somehow, she got the money to go on a trip to California. Unfortunately for her, she got arrested in Malibu and had to go back to New York. She needed to “to face six counts of grand larceny and attempted grand larceny, in addition to theft of services.”

The Truth Comes Out

This time around, she was brought to Rikers Island Jail but without the option to bail out. She now awaits trial and could get 15 years in prison. It would probably no longer surprise you, but Anna Delvey is no German heiress. The truth is that she is Anna Sorokin, a Russian woman born in 1991. Although her family relocated to Germany in 2007, she was not as moneyed as she claimed. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true because she came from a working-class family. When they asked her family about a trust fund for her, they said it did not exist.

An Offer And Counter-Offer

Even when caught, Anna attempted to use her way with words to get out of the mess. In an attempt to sweet talk the punishment away, she apparently offered a plea deal that involved only one to three years in jail. Would they take it?

A Big No

However, the judge firmly turned down the offer during the trial. Instead, they made a counter deal that came with three to nine years of jail time instead. This time, it was her turn to reject it and opt to go to court instead. What do you think happened in the end?

No Remorse For Her Actions

Justice Diane Kiesel was the presiding judge for the case. According to her, Anna displayed “no remorse” for her actions. She felt the need to turn down her plea offer since it would have been nothing more than a simple “slap on the wrist”. It seems like the judges were out for blood, so tough luck for her. We think it is a good thing that they are trying to do their best to serve justice. They started to look into the idea of making Anna serve 15 years for her crimes.

A Netflix Adaptation

Anna awaits trial at the moment. However, you should know that Netflix is currently working on a show about her life! One judge seemed concerned that Anna was showing more interest in the way she was going to be portrayed than remorse for what she did. Famous TV producer Shonda Rhimes will be in charge, and it’s rumored that actress Jennifer Lawrence will play Anna.

“Not That Bad”

“This place is not that bad at all actually,” Anna said in an attempt to describe Rikers. “People seem to think it’s horrible, but I see it as like, this sociological experiment.” She particularly enjoys observing others. Clearly fascinated, she said, “This one girl, she’s been stealing other people’s identities. I didn’t realize it was so easy.” Her lawyer testified to this by saying that she actually looked fine as she served time in there.

Just Like A Sociological Experiment

You would not believe the description her lawyer gave: “She is like a unicorn in there.” It seems like she succeeded in making friends over there. For her, no one is more interesting than her murderer inmates.  That said, many people are concerned if she likes spending time in there because she gets to learn about more criminal acts. That can’t be good.

Her Dream Location

We are sure you have already predicted that her dreams of creating the Anna Delvey Foundation did not go through. In July, the location she wanted for it got leased out to a Swedish photography agency called Fotografiska. We already talked about how eager she was to get her hands on 281 Park Avenue South, so you can probably imagine how upset she was to hear this. She has never stopped talking about the foundation, however, which she plans to make an “arts-focused members club.” Even though she admitted she could have approached it better, she said this “doesn’t diminish the hundred things” what she “did right”.

How To Get Away With Fraud

The experts who are dealing with her case believe that she scammed a total of $275,000 from different banks, hotels, and people. Whoa. She was able to do this by falsifying documents for her bank loans. The documents also revealed that she was able to get millions of dollars from European banks. She did this by floating bad checks as well as taking credits she had no means to pay back. Perhaps she really was banking on paying it all back as soon as her plans took off. Unfortunately, there is zero chance this would happen.

Brilliant But Doomed To Fail

To be fair to her, we have to admit that she was rather brilliant to a certain extent. Anna Sorokin somehow managed to live the lifestyle of a celebrity via false documents, loans, check-kiting, and swindling. Despite this, it was only a matter of time before she got caught.

She’ll Never Be A Socialite

It’s possible that everything would have worked out for her had she been able to start the Anna Devley Foundation and made the profit she expected to earn. Unfortunately, everything began to fall apart before her eyes. We doubt she’ll become a real socialite any time soon, or ever.

Dropping Her A Line

After she entered Rikers Island, her Instagram account continued to upload a couple of photos. We highly doubt that they allow anyone to access Instagram in prison, but we find the posts extremely fascinating. She clearly enjoys all the attention and fame she now has. She continues to encourage people to write to her via letters while she is behind bars. Feel free to do so if you wish, but it is probably not a good idea to visit her. For one thing, we still do not know who is posting on her social media platforms… Besides, you might get tangled in the mess!